Jackson sale 'still taking place'

A sale of Michael Jackson memorabilia will still go ahead, despite the singer taking legal action to stop it, the auction house conducting it has said.

• Earlier this month the 50-year-old star filed a legal action in Los Angeles claiming that Julien’s Auction House had “effectively stolen” his property.
• However, Darren Julien said they are “really puzzled and disappointed” that he is trying to stop it.
• He said Jackson knew about the sale and even approved a press release about it.
• “We’re really puzzled and disappointed that he’s trying to stop this sale because the last eight months he’s known about the auction.
• Mr Julien claims a contract with Jackson’s company was agreed.
• “In December he and his manager approved a release that went out, announcing that we’re conducting an auction of Neverland and Michael Jackson.”
• He added they planned to do a “first class job” for the star.
• “We’re going to keep our commitment to him and really make sure that it’s really something his fans and the world can be proud of.
• “I mean Michael Jackson is an amazing pop icon – the history and what he means to pop culture and Neverland is part of pop culture history.
• “So we want this to be something that’s fun, that’s exciting, so we hope we get past all this issues with him and he’ll enjoy the process like he did originally when he was putting the sale together for us.”
• Some of the 2,000 items include the wrought iron gates from his Neverland Ranch and a white glove he wore in his 1983 Billie Jean video.
• The five-day auction, which is due to take place from 21 April in Beverly Hills, is expected to fetch up to $20m (£13.9m).
• Earlier this month Jackson announced he would be playing 50 dates at London’s O2 Arena.